Peter Jackson on how Joaquin Phoenix starrer inspired new Gollum film: 'The way that explored the Joker’s psychology'

A new film is underway in ‘The Lord Of The Rings’ franchise, and fans are excited. This time around, Peter Jackson is returning to the beloved franchise, focusing on Gollum’s journey. While discussing his return and what motivated him to do the project after so many years since the last one, Jackson had only one word to answer: ‘Joker’. Here’s how famed actor Joaquin Phoenix’s film inspired the ‘LOTR’ return!

Peter Jackson shares how Joaquin Phoenix’s ‘Joker’ inspired new ‘LOTR’ film

While discussing the upcoming project with Indiewire, the famed director shared how Joaquin Phoenix and his film inspired him in the unlikeliest ways. On how the film and character inspired the new project, Jackson explained that they truly admired the way the character’s psychology took the front seat in the storytelling.

Providing more details, he shared that “The way that explored the Joker’s psychology while it was telling a story. We’ve got the story that’s in the appendices, and we’ll tell that story, but we’ll tell it from an internal Gollum perspective.” The director further explained during the interview that they are creating the story using the appendices section rather than only drawing inspiration from the famed ‘The Lord Of The Rings’ books. He cited that the part holds many extra details that were equally important but could not have been included in the main plot.

Peter Jackson on why Andy Serkis is the right person to direct

During the interview, he was also asked why Andy Serkis is leading the film's direction. Serkis has played Gollum’s character for years, which Jackson considered first and foremost. He shared that he never truly thought about taking over the directing portion of the film. He concluded, “If I thought I’d do a better film, I’d do it, but I thought, there’s a guy that’s going to make a really interesting film here, and it’s not me.”

Scheduled for release next year, ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum’ is set to explore Gollum’s history and origins. This includes his struggles finding the ring, the effect it had on him in the early days, and the time leading up to Mordor. The film will also explore Aragorn’s early years as a ranger, his hunt for Gollum and keeping the ring safe.Get the latest entertainment updates from the Times of India, along with the latest Hindi movies, upcoming Hindi movies in 2026 , and Telugu movies.”